3 Ways to Determine the Sex of a Chicken

[Scorpiochick]

Ok, I was just cruising around the web and found this. Is this any better? I cant really afford a Pro. But I dont want to roosters fighting all the time either.

http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-the-Sex-of-a-Chicken

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you plan to hatch eggs or purchase straight run chicks then you need a plan for getting rid of the unwanted males. Roasted chicken is a good one. If culling birds is not an option for you then you should only purchase pullets from your feed store or grown birds from a breeder.

The link was correct but in reality if you start into chickens and hatching you'll soon be able to sex them merely by looking and comparing each one to the group. Leg size and length is the first thing I notice and males do stand out as chicks. Feather sexing does not work with some breeds or lines but if it applies is super easy. You straighten the wing and look at the feathers coming in. If all the same length then a female, if not, male. In reality you don't even need to do that as the shear volume of feathers on a female compared to male at week or so age is a dead give away.

Oh, and males wont fight each other until they are of breeding age and vying for dominant position to take the harem. Might happen as early as 16 weeks of age but if you like BBQ and don't mind a smaller bird they are good on a grill if culled just before 12 weeks old. Otherwise cull when they start acting up of are of fair size and roast at 325F covered. Year olds and up are soup/stock/gumbo kinds of dishes, don't let the water come to boil or it will toughen the meat.

 

[ChickenPox]

You can always give roos away. You can't always sell them. My boyfriend takes our extra roos to the contruction sites where he works. We can't give them away fast enough and they are always asking for more. I would love to sell them, but I figure I"m helping to feed a family. I can't process them myself. Would love to, but it seems like a lot of work. It's frustrating to end up with so many boys, but I love the birds too much to quit!